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Episode 861: Murder, Remorse, and Major League Games
Date April 13, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about whether they would want to play in a major league game, un-fun facts, chyron decisions, GM hypotheticals, robot pitchers, and more. Topics * Would you play in a MLB game if given a chance? * GM job security, hypothetical trades, and short vs. long term returns * Episode 856 follow-up: Unfun 'fun facts' * Early season caught stealing rate * Chyron stat displays early in the season * Robot pitchers * Two-time Rookie of the Year Intro Sean Lennon, "Spectacle" Outro Beck, "Modern Guilt" Email Questions * Sam: "If your favorite team offered to let you play a game, would you? You have to play a position other than first base and you have to play the entire game. It's neither an extraordinarily important or meaningless game, it's today's game in fact. So, would you?" * Andrew: "Let's say you are pre 2015 Billy Beane and on Thanksgiving weekend you are pondering whether or not to take the Donaldson trade as offered by the Jays. Just at that moment our old friend Baseball God comes to you and informs you that if you make this trade, Franklin Barreto will be a first ballot Hall of Fame shortstop that you can lock down to a very team friendly deal. The downside is that Josh Donaldson will win multiple MVP awards after his departure, thought he will not be as good as Barreto. It is also guaranteed that Barreto will not arrive and mature to superstar status for five years due to some developmental stalls and rough injuries. None of the other pieces you obtain in the deal will give you anything more than 0 WAR each year. As you look at your organization it seems almost certain the A's are destined to be bad for at least 3-4 years until Barreto can usher in a new era. Regardless of if you accept the deal or not your memory will also be wiped of this encounter with Baseball God so you cannot explain your rationale to anyone. Do you take this trade with that information? How much can you trust your organization to keep you around while the team is bad and you have so much egg on your face? How many GMs have the right combination of job security and poor organizational state to want to take this deal?" * Milosch: "After how many games into a new season should the chyron start showing current year's stats instead of previous year's stats?" * Miles: "Rob Manfred, excited by DeepMind's victory in go decides to introduce computers into baseball. He allows the Miami Marlins to employ a pitcher with a robotic right arm such that it is able to throw a pitch with excellent control to any location with great movement and a speed anywhere from 65-105 MPH. However the robot requires manual adjustments that are only allowed after each batter has had his turn. As such, it throws to the same general location for every single pitch of a PA. If the pitch is a 98 MPH heater up and in but barely catching the strike zone the batter knows that it will go to that same place for every pitch of the PA. It might vary by a MPH or an inch of location or two. My question is, is this robot any good? It's probably a better pitcher stuff-wise than anyone who has ever lived but the batter gains a huge advantage after the first pitch. It has the complete arsenal of pitches that have ever been thrown and can be trotted out every day though it might go down for repairs. Is that enough?" * Eric: "How good would a player have to be to win the Rookie of the Year award while maintaining rookie eligibility the following year leading to the possibility of winning the award twice?" Play Index * Sam uses the Play Index to see if stolen base/caught stealing rates vary significantly early in the season. * The caught stealing rate is significantly higher at this point in the season compared to past years. * Rich Hill has a particularly high HBP rate this season. Notes * Given how Ben introduces the question, it seems that the 'Sam' email question was submitted by Sam Miller. * Sam mentions the discussion he had with Ben in Episode 381 about auctioning off playing time. * Despite the negative feelings that might be generated by players or fans, Ben thinks he would take the opportunity to play in a MLB game at a corner outfield spot. Sam goes back and forth on if he would play in the game. * Sam, "We've never said fart on this podcast. I feel so undignified saying the word." * A listener wrote in that postseason 'fun facts' are often significantly skewed because the number of playoff series and games has changed significantly. * Ben and Sam agree that a plate appearance minimum should be set for chyron displays changing over rather than a set number of games. Ideally they would like to see both displayed. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 861: Murder, Remorse, and Major League Games Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes